Disclosed is a compatible progressive download method and system. In the system, a terminal acquires format information of a remote content file prior to download of the content file and sets a progressive download environment based on the acquired format information. The terminal then simultaneously downloads data in a position corresponding to the format information from a server and plays the downloaded data. At this time, receipt of each media data, i.e., audio data and video data, is performed independently and a progressive download is performed in such a way that media data that is smaller than its threshold during playback is downloaded to fill a buffer. This progressive download method can be applied to downloading of content in other formats in addition to formats defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Therefore, it is not necessary for the server to modify the format of content according to the 3GPP standard.